As of March 27, ’02 President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt will have met with other Arab leaders in Beirut, Lebanon for a critical Middle East conference. Whether or not this meeting will produce the prophesied war of Psalm 83 remains to be seen, but Part II of our 2001 Rapture Watch Message #255 titled, "Chaldeans, Philistines, Assyrians & Egyptians" serves to freshen the memory of Egypt’s threats against Israel after Ariel Sharon was elected Prime Minister of Israel.

We quote: In part one of this message we shared how the Old Testament Chaldeans, Philistines and Assyrians are found today in the modern-day peoples known as the Iraqis, Palestinians and the Syrians and how these people fit into currently being fulfilled bible prophecy. We also revealed how the Iraqis, Palestinians and the Syrians are all presently preparing to fulfill their prophesied role in a war against Israel as is recorded in Psalm 83.

In part two of this message we will focus on the Egyptians (the Hagarites spoken of in Psa. 83:6).

Egypt’s defense minister has likewise made known Egypt’s war inclinations towards Israel. This was hinted at in a series of bizarre statements reported in an article from AFP on Feb. 8, ’01. The article headlined, "Egypt wants peace, but must be ready for war: Tantawi." We quote, "Egypt is working for peace but must not "forget to be well prepared for war," Defense Minister Hussein Tantawi said here Thursday after Ariel Sharon was elected Israel’s new prime minister. Tantawi underlined "the capacity of the Egyptian armed forces to deter anyone who plans to attack the soil of Egypt." He was speaking during a ceremony with Egypt’s third armored division that was reported by the state-run MENA news agency. "Everyone should recall the war of October 1973 before speaking about attacking Egypt," Tantawi said, referring to the Egyptian army’s breaching the defense of the Israeli occupation force in the Sinai. "Today we are living through an extremely important stage for achieving peace that we have always hoped for, and for which we are working, especially after we prove to everyone our armed forces amount to a non-negligible power," he said. "But this does not make us forget to be prepared for war," Tantawi said."

Keep in mind that since 1948 Egypt has initiated every war that it has undertaken with Israel and has been repeatedly defeated in humiliation. Israel has never attacked any country that did not threaten her safety first. It is a personal opinion that the strange dialogue engaged in by Egypt’s defense minister reveals an innate fear of Israeli retaliation.

God makes it abundantly clear in Isa. 19:5-10 that the defeat of Egypt in the upcoming Arab/Israeli war will involve terrible devastation to the Nile River. Also, Isa. 19:17 reveals that just the mention of Israel will precipitate fear in Egypt. With these facts in mind, it is intriguing to note that Israel had withheld its trump card in her previous war with Egypt in 1973. The Israeli Defense Forces simply refer to it as "the paper." In "the paper" they have laid out a plan to blow up the Aswan Dam if an Egyptian threat should ever reach a critical stage.

Studies have shown that the destruction of the Aswan Dam and the subsequent unleashing of 168,000 million cubic meters of water from its enormous man-made sea will wreck havoc and, while diverting its flow, will turn the river of the Nile into a weapon of mass destruction. Quoting Isa. 19:5-10 & 17 we read, "The waters will fail from the sea, And the river will be wasted and dried up. The rivers will turn foul: The brooks of defense will be emptied and dried up; The reeds and rushes will wither. The papyrus reeds by the River, by the mouth of the River, Will wither, be driven away, and be no more. The fisherman also will mourn; All those will lament who cast hooks into the River, And they will languish who spread nets on the waters. Moreover those will be ashamed; And its foundations will be broken. All who make wages will be troubled of soul…And the land of Judah will be a terror to Egypt; everyone who makes mention of it will be afraid in himself, because of the counsel of the Lord of hosts which He has determined against it."

Search as we may, we had never found any documentation that revealed Egypt’s awareness of the horrendous weapon of water planned to be used against her if Israel should ever find the need to do so - that is, not until now. In a Feb. 3, ’01 Arabic News article titled, "Israelis to bear Sharon’s policies," we believe we have found one recognizable source of the fear detected in the words of Egypt’s defense minister, especially since Ariel Sharon has personally proved in past encounters with Egypt his unrestrained resolve for victory. It was Ariel Sharon who led the Israeli forces in the capture of the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt in 1973 and he did so against orders from his superiors.

Quoting from this article we read, "Egypt’s Presidential Political Advisor Osma Al-Baz said that the Israeli people will bear the brunt of Likud Leader Ariel Sharon’s suicidal policies in case he wins the upcoming elections and sustains his policies. [Ariel Sharon was elected Prime Minister of Israel in a landslide victory on Feb. 6, ‘01]. In a symposium held on the sidelines of the 33 rd Cairo Book Fair Thursday night, Baz said that Egypt deals with institutions and standing policies not with persons. Israel is represented by its government, he said. But he also said that if Sharon maintains his ideals made clear during his election campaign in case he wins the February 6 elections, the Israeli people and other people will be the major losers. He warned that if Israel shows negative policies and ideas, Egypt would react accordingly and if it opts for peace, Egypt will also act accordingly…Al-Baz believed that there could be co-existence with Israel in the region once Israel promised to be, and complied with being a state with limited borders and vowed that it would not expand at the expense of the Arab countries. He also said that Israel had to liquidate its nuclear arsenal. Al-Baz called on the upcoming government to add to the destructive ideas that would make Israel lose much. On the probability that Tel-Aviv bomb the High Dam, he said Israel knows that Egypt has a sufficient deterrent force. ‘The High Dam has a protective umbrella that safeguards it from fire.’"

It is doubtful that Egypt truly has the technology to stop Israel from blowing up the Aswan Dam should Sharon decide it is necessary to do so. Besides having a far superior air force, Israel also has unrivaled missile capabilities with mini and micro nuclear technology available.

It is impossible for Egypt to defeat or even thwart Israel’s prophesied victory in the upcoming war. This is because God is on the side of the Jews, and He will be present in Egypt to assure their defeat according to Isa. 19:1-4. "The burden against Egypt. Behold, the Lord rides on a swift cloud, And will come into Egypt; The idols of Egypt will totter at His presence, And the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst. "I will set Egyptians against Egyptians; Everyone will fight against his brother, And everyone against his neighbor, City against city, kingdom against kingdom. The spirit of Egypt will fail in its midst; I will destroy their counsel, And they will consult the idols and the charmers, The mediums and the sorcerers. And the Egyptians I will give into the hand of a cruel master, And a fierce king will rule over them," Says the Lord, the Lord of host."

Each passing day Egypt’s threats against Israel grow increasingly more venomous. But the God over the whole earth and defender of Israel is listening.

When reading the Hebrew prophet’s words against Arabs in Psa. 83, it is essential to understand the undying love God has for these descendants of Abraham through Ishmael. In verse 16 God has the prophet write, "Fill their faces with shame; That they may seek Your name, O Lord."

The day that the Arabs as well as the Jews find salvation in Jesus Christ will be a glorious dawn for the entire earth.

God’s Word is true and unfailing. The conclusion of all things of this realm will surely come to a cataclysmic end. The signs the Lord gave for the faithful to watch for as indications of that time are all around us. Just as surely, God told of the eternal future in glory awaiting those who put their faith in His Son Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins.

Today is the day to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior and have your sins forever washed away by His precious blood that He shed on the cross at Calvary